Two U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field offices in Utah are seeking public comments through July 24 on environmental assessments (EA) for proposed oil and natural gas lease sales in the northeast area of the state. The EAs would be used to determine which parcel are included in the sales, now scheduled for December. One EA assessed 64 potential parcels, comprising 66,626 acres, in Duchesne and Uintah counties, including 2,080 acres of split-estate land. The second EA looked at 15 potential parcels comprising 32,013 acres in Emery County, mostly southeast of Ferron.

A decision on whether opponents may be able to shut down Energy Transfer Partners LP’s Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is on hold for at least two months, according to a schedule established Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg for the District of Columbia. Boasberg ruled earlier in June the pipeline’s environmental review was in part inadequate and must be reconsidered. He previously ruled twice against challenges. The Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux, together with environmental supporters, have attempted to halt DAPL operations for months.

Austin-based Jones Energysaid it will sell several non-core assets, including its Arkoma Basin properties, to unnamed buyers for a total of $70 million, and continues to actively market additional non-core assets. Sale price for the Arkoma properties would be $65 million plus up to a $2.5 million contingent payment base on improving natural gas prices, and is expected to close in 3Q2017. “The Arkoma represents just 6% of our projected 2017 revenues and we view the deal as an accretive transaction to the company,” said CEO Jonny Jones. More than half of Jones Energy’s gross identified drilling locations are in its growing Merge play, which is about 21,000 net acres in the Eastern Anadarko Basin.

American Midstream Partners LP (AMID) has launched a binding open season through July 17 for volume commitments from existing receipt points on its Bakken Shale system in McKenzie County, ND, to a newly constructed delivery point interconnecting into the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in Watford City, ND. AMID plans to expand the Bakken system to have the capacity to accept more than 40,000 b/d of crude oil from field receipt points and local lease tank batteries through its truck facility south of Watford City for delivery into DAPL. The new connection into DAPL is expected to enter service in August. For information contact Philip Weigand, commercial manager, at (346) 241-359 or e-mail pweigand@americanmidstream.com.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a lengthy markup session Wednesday, debating a series of proposed amendments for eight energy bills. Under consideration are revisions to HR 2883, which could establish a predictable and transparent process to permit construction of cross-border pipelines and electric facilities. HR 2910 would promote better coordination among the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other agencies involved in siting interstate natural gas pipelines. There also are bills regarding ozone standards, the Federal Power Act, the Environmental Protection Agency’s brownfields program, hydropower, energy emergency planning, and nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, NV.

One of North America’s leading natural gas marketers, Shell Energy North America (SENA), has agreed to buy MP2 Energy LLC for an undisclosed price. MP2 manages power plants and delivers retail power to end-use customers. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction should be completed in 3Q2017. SENA now manages a retail energy business targeting large commercial and industrial customers on the U.S. West Coast. With the purchase of MP2, which is headquartered in The Woodlands north of Houston, SENA plans to expand operations in Texas and through the eastern United States. SENA’s North American gas sales volumes are estimated at around 10 Bcf/d. According to NGI’s top natural gas marketers for 1Q2017, SENA was ranked No. 2.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a lengthy markup session Wednesday, debating a series of proposed amendments for eight energy bills. Under consideration are revisions to HR 2883, which could establish a predictable and transparent process to permit construction of cross-border pipelines and electric facilities. HR 2910 would promote better coordination among the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other agencies involved in siting interstate natural gas pipelines. There also are bills regarding ozone standards, the Federal Power Act, the Environmental Protection Agency’s brownfields program, hydropower, energy emergency planning, and nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, NV.

One of North America’s leading natural gas marketers, Shell Energy North America (SENA), has agreed to buy MP2 Energy LLC for an undisclosed price. MP2 manages power plants and delivers retail power to end-use customers. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction should be completed in 3Q2017. SENA now manages a retail energy business targeting large commercial and industrial customers on the U.S. West Coast. With the purchase of MP2, which is headquartered in The Woodlands north of Houston, SENA plans to expand operations in Texas and through the eastern United States. SENA’s North American gas sales volumes are estimated at around 10 Bcf/d. According to NGI’s top natural gas marketers for 1Q2017, SENA was ranked No. 2.